


By the Light of the Nearly Full Moon

by teh_kris_eh



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hermione's Nook's Kissmas 2020, Hogwarts, James Potter is a Good Friend, Kissing, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Mild Hurt/Comfort, POV Lily Evans Potter, Teen Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:40:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27988608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teh_kris_eh/pseuds/teh_kris_eh
Summary: Lily takes refuge on the astronomy tower on Christmas Eve. James Potter, of all people, finds her. Will this end as most of their conversations have in the past - in an argument? Or will something new and unexpected happen?Just some holiday fluff for Hermione's Nook's Kissmas 2020!
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 10
Kudos: 18
Collections: Hermione’s Nook Kissmas





	By the Light of the Nearly Full Moon

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Hermione's Nook's Kissmas Fest 2020! 
> 
> Pairing: Lily Evans/James Potter  
> Assigned Kiss: Moonlight Kiss  
> Holiday Theme: Christmas Eve/Christmas
> 
> Beta love to [LivininCorsets](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LivinginCorsets). Any remaining errors are my own!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter series, I just enjoy playing with the characters!

Christmas hols were supposed to be fun, right? A break from the day to day stresses that came with being a seventeen-year-old witch in her last year at Hogwarts. At least that is what Lily Evans had been hoping for this year more than any other in the past.

In reality, while she did not have to attend classes during the hols, there were still Head duties to be done since she had decided to stay in the castle instead of going home this year. Younger students needed to be looked after and given support when they felt homesick, rounds needed to be done, and plans for the next term needed to be put in place for when the prefects returned. On top of that, all four of the Marauders had also decided to spend the Christmas season in the castle this year. 

All in all, the break was not turning out to be as relaxing as she had hoped for. 

Granted, even she could admit that the boys had reigned themselves in this year for the most part. They hadn’t stopped pranking their fellow students by any means, but their pranks had seemed to lose some of the maliciousness that they had previously held. While her friendship with Severus was long over now, it was good to see that they had stopped hexing him at random and calling it a prank. 

If having James Potter as Head Boy led to him and his friends calming down a bit, she was willing to admit that working with him was worth it. He surprisingly didn’t complain about their shared responsibilities as head students at all. He had also long stopped asking her to every Hogsmead weekend. 

They had actually developed a good working relationship, which surprised her. And it was a relief to not be hounded by him every chance he got. She absolutely didn’t miss the attention - at all. If she did occasionally wonder at what had finally made him give up his pursuit of her, it was just to satiate her curiosity. Truly, it didn’t bother her. She was much better off now. 

Right?

Of course, there were also all of the things happening outside of the castle walls to worry about, which were far more important than the mystery that Potter presented. The strange occurrences being reported in the Daily Prophet. The rumored disappearances. Even within Hogwarts tension had seemed to be rising all year. Lily just wanted it all to stop and did her best as Head Girl to make that happen, but things just kept escalating. 

Lily’s restless thoughts and general annoyance at the rising noise level in the common room had led her to take refuge in the astronomy tower. She had been here for about an hour, lost to her thoughts as she looked out across the Hogwarts grounds, the nearly full moon casting a beautiful glow on the lake and previously fallen snow that coated every surface. 

She was so lost in thought that she hadn’t realized that her last warming charm had faded until she felt a new one wash over her. Startled, she turned around with her wand raised and found herself staring into the brown eyes of James Potter. 

“Alright, Evans?” he asked, pocketing his wand and walking forward slowly. He almost reminded her of someone approaching a wounded animal - slow and calculated movements. It was then that she realized that she still had her own wand raised and pointed directly at his chest. 

“Yes, of course,” she responded, lowering her wand and turning back around to hide the blush she felt rising on her cheeks. She was more than a little embarrassed that she had reacted by raising her wand at him. Really, who would cast a warming charm if they had malicious intent? And she hadn’t even heard him come up the stairs. 

He finally reached the railing and she could feel him next to her. He was standing so close, not quite touching. She felt a weird electric feeling in the air between them. They stood in silence for a few moments, leaning against the railing, looking out over the grounds again. 

She was surprised that the silence was almost comfortable. Aside from that weird feeling that seemed to linger in the air between them.

“Want to talk about it?”

She turned her head to look at him, a little confused. “Talk about what?”

“The reason you are standing outside on the astronomy tower alone on Christmas Eve,” he responded in a quiet voice. Lily was taken back by the tone of sincerity in his voice. It wasn’t like they were actually friends. Sure, they worked together in their appointed Head Boy and Girl roles and were mostly civil to each other now, but they never talked about anything personal. 

Lily shrugged. “It’s nothing really. Just wanted to get away from the common room for a bit.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw James turn his head to look at her, almost like he was studying her. “See, I would be more inclined to believe that if you hadn’t been moping around the last few days. Weeks, really. You haven’t been yourself lately. Plus, you always do that thing with your nose whenever you aren’t quite telling the truth,” he said with a chuckle. 

She turned to look at him, incredulous. “What do you mean, _that thing with my nose_?”

His eyes filled with mirth. “Out of everything, that is what you picked up on?” Lily glared at him and he had the nerve to wink at her, which gave her an odd fluttering feeling in her stomach that she resolutely ignored. “You do this little scrunching thing,” he said, scrunching his nose ever so slightly. 

“What? I absolutely do _not_ do that!” she said while swatting at his arm, finally getting him to stop the nose scrunching, though he continued to laugh at her.

“Sure you don’t, Evans. Now talk to me. What’s going on?”

Lily turned back to look across the grounds. “With everything going on, it seems so silly to be worrying over it,” she said in a whisper. “My sister recently got engaged and her fiance is going to be at my family’s home tomorrow for Christmas. Tuney and I haven’t exactly been on the best of terms for years now. She doesn’t approve of me being a witch, you see. And that’s putting it lightly.”

“Is that why you stayed here this year instead of going home?”

“Part of it. I certainly didn’t want to give her more reason to hate me,” she said with a self-deprecating chuckle. 

“But I doubt that she has told her fiance about me. Even so, it’s not like my parents didn’t ask me to come home or anything. I just couldn’t really face it, especially if I would have had to hide who I am. When I was home this past summer I felt adrift. I feel like I’m between worlds - the muggle world with my family and our world here. We graduate soon, and it’s harder now than ever before to jump between the two without feeling off-balance. I feel like it’s time for me to choose one and, although I don’t really fit in either world, at this point I feel more myself here in the wizarding world than I do with my family. Does that make me a bad person? A bad daughter? A bad sister? Maybe Tuney is right.”

Lily grimaced, looking down at her hands as they rested on the ledge of the railing. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to completely unload on you. I’m not sure where that all came from.”

“None of that, now,” James replied quickly. She saw his hand raise and reach out toward her slowly before it stopped short and dropped back down again quickly on a quiet sigh. “I asked, didn’t I? Not good to keep things like that in.”

“I suppose not,” she agreed. “Still feels odd to be telling you all of my problems, especially with our volatile history.”

James chuckled at that and bumped her shoulder lightly with his. “Well, there is that. I am trying to be better now. You weren’t wrong - I did behave like an egotistical prat for most of our time here.”

“You certainly did,” Lily chuckled lightly, turning her body to face him directly. “And for the record, I have noticed that you have changed, Potter. I actually don’t hate working with you as much as I thought I would.”

“High praise, that.” James laughed loudly, causing Lily to smile brightly and look at him in slight awe. She had never realized how wonderful his laugh sounded before. It was so full of warmth and joy.

He turned his head and caught her eye. Her breath hitched at the emotions that seemed to play across his face - amusement, worry, surprise...and something else that she couldn’t quite put into words that brought back that fluttering feeling in her stomach that she had ignored earlier. It took her a moment before she came to her senses and looked down, a bright blush taking over her cheeks. 

James turned his body to face her as well and put a finger under her chin, tilting her face back up gently. That fluttering feeling was really getting out of hand. She was surprised as a blush slowly rose on his cheeks too as he dropped his hand back to his side. She watched him curiously as he opened and closed his mouth a few times, seemingly at a loss for something to say, before he squared his shoulders and gently wrapped one of her hands in his. 

“To answer your previous question, I don’t think that you feeling more like yourself here in the wizarding world than in the muggle one makes you a bad person,” James said softly. “You _belong_ here. You are such a bright and talented witch, but that’s not all there is to you. You are also kind, brave, and fair. Lily, you embody everything that is good in this world, and anyone who thinks otherwise can take it up with me.”

Her breath caught in her throat and she could feel tears welling up in her eyes at his words and the look of pure...no, it couldn’t be that...on his face that left her speechless. Without thinking, she dropped his hand, stepped into his space, wrapped her arms around his waist, and buried her head into his chest. 

She felt him tense up and freeze for a moment, which made her come to her senses and realize that she had just thrown herself on him. He still hadn’t moved and she was about to move away when she felt his arms wrap around her, one near her shoulder and the other cradling her head gently, just holding her.

Lily felt like she was having an out of body experience. She felt all of the tension that had been building up over her the past few weeks release from her body as she melted into his embrace. She felt safe. Cared for. Whole. Alive. This felt like _home_ , or what home should be, which both terrified and thrilled her. This was James Potter, after all. She had spent the better part of the last six years yelling at him. 

But he had grown up. Matured. Here he was, giving her comfort that she hadn’t even realized that she needed and craved. And she couldn’t bring herself to let him go. Not now. Maybe not ever. 

That thought brought her up short. Where had this come from? When did this happen? Had this been building up for months, years even, and she just hadn’t realized it until now? 

She didn’t know how long they stood there like that, just wrapped in each other's arms. They didn’t say anything, just held each other tight, until she felt the warming charm fade away. 

“We should head inside,” she heard James say with what sounded like regret. “It’s after midnight and it’s getting even colder. Don’t want you to get sick.” Lily nodded and stepped away from his embrace. He turned to move toward the door. 

“Potter, wait -” she grabbed his forearm lightly to stop him. He looked at her with concern in his eyes, before they flashed with what she thought may be resigned sadness. 

“It’s ok, Evans. I know you don’t feel for me the way I do for you. I just wanted to check on you tonight. If you ever need to talk, you know where to find me.” 

He gave her a tight smile and went to move toward the door again. Lily grabbed onto his arm again, stopping him. “Potter -”

“I promise it’s fine, Evans. Don’t worry about it. Let’s get inside and back to the dorms, yeah?”

He stepped away a third time and now Lily was annoyed. “James!” Lily practically yelled at him in her frustration. She watched as he froze and turned around slowly with a look of surprise on his face. 

Before he could say something else or move away again, she quickly crossed the space between them, grabbed his hands, and lifted onto her toes before lightly brushing her lips across his. It was chaste and sweet and she didn’t give him time to react before she stepped back slightly, still holding onto his hands. “Will you shut up and listen to me now?” she asked quietly. 

Lily watched as James nodded, looking dazed. He dropped one of her hands and brought his fingers up to touch his lips as if he couldn’t quite convince himself that what had just happened was real and was trying to find evidence that it was. 

“Good,” she said, smiling up at him. “I wanted to say thank you for coming to find me tonight. I didn’t realize how alone I felt until suddenly you were here and the feeling almost literally melted away. I’ve never...I mean, I’m...just, thank you.”

James was still gaping at her and she couldn’t help the nervous giggle that slipped out.

“You called me James,” he finally said, his voice breaking slightly. She nodded, grinning.

“You kissed me,” he whispered, as if afraid that saying it any louder would scare her away. She nodded again as she took a small step closer to him as she bit her bottom lip nervously. 

She watched as his eyes darted to her lips and then quickly back to her eyes. Seeming to finally break out of whatever stupor she had put him in, his face broke into a bright smile as he closed the remaining gap between them, cupped her face with both of his hands, tilted her head up gently with his thumbs, and lightly pressed his lips to hers. 

Lily couldn’t help the contented sigh that slipped out when their lips met. Normally it would probably embarrass her, but she really couldn’t bring herself to care. Right now, all she could think about was how _right_ this felt. Kissing James Potter here on the astronomy tower under the light of the moon. It was nothing short of perfection. She could almost feel his magic caressing hers. It was intoxicating and she never wanted it to end. 

But a crash from the bottom of the staircase finally caused them to break away from each other, bringing them back to reality. She could hear Peeves cackling somewhere below them and knew it would be only a matter of time before a professor or Filch showed up to investigate. James, grinning like a fool, grabbed her hand and they quickly descended the stairs and made their way back to the common room.

Once safely inside the now quiet common room, James gave her another chaste kiss and led her to the staircase to the girls’ dormitories.

“James - ” Lily said softly, “I volunteered to help the professors with rounds tomorrow night, but I was wondering if you would want to go for a walk with me tomorrow afternoon? Maybe around the lake, if the weather is nice?” 

“Lily Evans, did you just ask me out?” James asked, his eyes alight with mirth as his face lit up.

“Well if you’re going to be a prat about it -” she was cut off abruptly by his lips on hers, where she could feel his smile. 

“Yes, Lily,” he said when he broke the kiss, leaning his forehead against hers. “Nothing would make me happier. I have...plans...with the guys tomorrow night, but tomorrow afternoon I am all yours.”

She smiled at him and gave him a last, sweet kiss. “Happy Christmas, James,” she whispered before turning around and heading up the stairs. 

She had only reached the first years’ door when she heard clapping coming from the common room below.

“ALRIGHT, PRONGS!”

“About damn time, mate!”

“I’ll go grab the Butterbeer!”

She supposed she should be embarrassed, or at least annoyed at their antics, but found that she was far too happy and tired to worry about it. The other Marauders could be dealt with another time.


End file.
